


Dig Up His Bones But Leave The Soul

by TinyButDeadly (Sigery97)



Series: Voltron's Favorite Paladin [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Attempted Langst, Attempted Lion swap, Blue refuses to be separated from her precious paladin, Coran gets some respect, Gen, Lance loves Blue, Lions aren't having it, Mild Hurt/Comfort, blue loves lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-04 05:16:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10269080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sigery97/pseuds/TinyButDeadly
Summary: Shiro is missing, but Voltron is needed.Cue attempted lion swapping.Attempted because Blue refuses to give up Lance





	1. Allura's decision

**Author's Note:**

> This is unbeta'd (and fresh off of the google docs)  
> Title is from Bones by MSMR and only needs to make half sense
> 
> Kind of disappointed in the lack of lion swaps, however I really don't want Lance and Blue split up because their bond was so heavily mentioned/focused on in the first season. Along with Red becoming the protective soccer mom and Shiro and Black's stand against their shared abuser (fuck off Zarkon) in the second season. I refuse for their bonds to be pushed to the side (also goes for Pidge and Hunk but their bonds weren't in as dire need for protection)

Zarkon was gone, defeated. Shiro was gone as well though. Even without the emperor, the Galra still continued their reign of destruction. Voltron didn’t have time to mourn, they had to continue their fight to free the universe. Lance was well aware of these facts. Morale was low with the loss of Shiro. Short tempers too; no one had time for Lance’s jokes or ‘lack of focus’.

“Shiro asked me to lead Voltron.”

Keith had told them the day after the battle. No one found faults with Shiro’s choice. Well Lance did, but who cares what the lazy flirt says? Keith was the new leader, and apparently that meant his words were law. Lance wasn’t allowed to back talk, tease, or argue with Keith now. Keith was above all that now, didn’t have time for the guy who got into fighter class on a technicality.

“What about the Red Lion?” Hunk asked.

“Lance is impulsive enough,” Pidge said.

“And Coran can fly Blue, she is the most accepting for a new paladian,” Allura finished.

**“No.”**

With a single word, Lance had all the attention in the room. Hunk and Coran were the only ones not outright glaring at Lance, they both looked a bit tired though.

“Lance, you will fly Red,” Allura commanded.

“You are the second most impulsive person on the ship, you have to,” Pidge added.

“I would rather you not to be anywhere near Red, but  it’s our only option. So for once in your life, shut up and listen,” Keith growled.

“Besides, it’s just till we find Shiro,” Hunk tried to console him, “Then you and Blue will be back together.”

“I will make sure to take good care of her,” Coran promised.

Lance wanted to yell and scream, tell them he could only fly Blue, break down into sobs like the weak link he was. He probably would have if Hunk and Coran said nothing. So for once in his life, Lance, forcing back tears, shut his big mouth. His opinion didn’t matter. Never had, probably never would. Maybe if he was (un)lucky enough, everyone would wise up by the time they found Shiro; just make Coran her permanent pilot and just send the useless seventh wheel away.

\---

 

Lance couldn’t sleep. He had tossed and turned in bed for hours, pillow damp with his tears and a ruined face mask. The microseconds he did sleep showed his friends, his team mates leaving him behind.

The castle would began to wake up in a couple hours, Lance got out of bed. He washed the remaining face mask off, trying to conceal his tear stained cheeks. Throwing on his paladin uniform (would he have to switch to the red armor now), he walked down to Blue’s hangar. He didn’t want the rest of the team to see the painful goodbye.

Blue’s eyes lit up as soon as Lance walked in, her loving purr filling his mind. Lance tried not to cry, pushing Blue’s concern back as he approached her. She laid down, resting her head on her front paws. Lance laid his palms on the bottom of her jaw.

Skin to metal, Blue seemed to immediately understand the situation if her wail meant anything. Barely moving, she pressed closer to his tiny hands. Her sadness mended with Lance’s, bringing a wave of tears down his cheeks. His breathing picked up as he tried to comfort his beautiful lion, half choking on some of the bigger sobs.

Lance had no idea how long he and Blue grieved together before a soft warmth tickled Lance’s back. Turning his head a bit, he was shocked to see Red there with low heat swirling out of her mouth. A couple of unfamiliar purrs also filled his ears, a spark of joy followed that was definitely from Blue.

_ I won’t be losing you. The Lions chose their paladins. We all agree you are my irreplaceable paladin. No one can command us otherwise, my little star. _


	2. The Lions' Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lions aren't happy, Lance is

Falling asleep and then trying to climb out of the pile made Lance late to breakfast. Everyone else was halfway done eating, thankfully no one scolded him verbally but Allura didn’t look pleased with him. Lance ate quickly, not bothering to attempt any chatter. After he finished, he followed the group back down to the hangars. The Lions had separated again, now sitting up in a circular form with their barriers up. Blue dropped hers almost immediately when she noticed Lance. Her purr filled Lance’s mind, soothing his nerves. He wasn’t going to lose her. She was his lion.

“Lance, let’s start with you. The Red Lion can be quite temperamental,” Allura said.

Lance glanced at Blue, hesitating. Allura cleared her throat and Lance slowly started walking over to Red. The purring in his head grew louder, encouraging him. He stopped in front of Red’s barrier, raising a hand. The barrier disappeared before Lance even touched it. He wasn’t sure what to do. Did Red want him to fly her? What about Blue?

_ She is mad at Mullet _

Lance held back a snort. That made some sense. Red had flown to rescue Keith from space quite a few times, plus he was trying to partner up with Black. Of course Red was upset by that. Lance picked up his step a bit, ignoring the hot glare he was probably getting from Keith. He reached her front paw, patting it a couple times. She shifted and suddenly Lance was in the air. Red was holding him by the scruff of his undersuit, metal firmly gripping his suit.

“Red, no-” Lance thought he heard Allura call out before he was carried around the circle to where Blue was sitting. Still in the air, Lance finally could see the others. They all looked shocked, Allura’s expression on the edge of fear like she thought Red would actually drop him or eat him or something. The hangar was silent for another moment before Red lowered her head to set Lance down gently. Blue laid down, resting her head on one paw. The other one was free for Lance to sit on and touch the side of her jaw, real casual. Red just sat down next to them.

Keith scowled at them, stalking over. The particle barrier went up in an instant. The barrier was a dark purple color and shaped like a figure 8. Blue and Red had both put their barriers up to keep Keith out. To make sure he couldn’t force Lance away from Blue.

“Lance, come out of there immediately,” Allura commanded, assured now Lance wasn’t about to die.

“I can’t just walk through the barrier?” Lance replied, sitting up a bit so he could look at the others more easily.

“They won’t just keep you in there,” Pidge said, rolling her eyes. Red growled loudly before she laid down in front of Blue, blocking Lance’s walking path. Blue purred loudly at that.

“What’s wrong with the lions?” Keith asked.

“I’m not sure, they don’t usually act like this,” Allura said, frowning. She closed her eyes like she was focusing. Blue made a low whining noise and a rumble of growls quickly followed. The other three lions all rose to their feet, eyes glowing and growls echoing from them. They seemed to be glaring at Allura who startled, looking at Blue with shock and confusion.

“What just happened?” Pidge asked.

“I asked the Blue Lion to return Lance, and the others all got very angry all of the sudden,” Allura explained.

“It sounded more like an order to me,” Lance called out.

“Lance, this is serious!” Pidge snapped.

_ We are as well _

Pidge jerked a bit, looking at Green who made her way around to Blue and Red. Yellow went the opposite way. The purple barrier flicked out. Both lions laid down near the other two, tails and paws entwining within their pile.

_ Blue refuses to part with her paladin, that bond is to be respected _

Hunk’s eyes dropped to the ground, looking regretful.

Black joined her pride, but stayed sitting in front of the group, almost protective of their pile.

_ The lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and can not be forced. _

Everyone heard the Black Lion’s voice as she spoke, repeating the words Allura had told them months ago.

_ My pride likes their paladins. You can not switch them around like this is a silly dance. We won’t stand for that. I will choose a temporary pilot till my paladin returns. _

“Shiro asked me to lead if-”

_ I don’t really care what he told you. My paladin did not and does not have the right to choose his successor. _

“You let me fly you before!”

_ That was a special case; my paladin was in danger and in doubt. I would have allowed a blind du-flax to pilot me in that scenario. Which is similar to an Earth duck if you do not remember. _

“Who will pilot you till Shiro’s return?” Allura asked.

_ Coran will be my temporary pilot. My pride and I have agreed he is our best option. Of course I will not force this position upon you, we discussed other options as well. _

“If I may ask why me?” Coran asked.

_ You were military trained, fully and up the ranks. You were King Alfor’s advisor, and now act as the princess’s advisor. You are level headed and wise. Most importantly, you care deeply for the princess and the paladins. They will be safe under your watch. _

Coran smiled at the kind words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this was enjoyable. I rewrote this a couple times and decided this route was the best. Black turned out a lot sassier than I originally intended, but that might just be how she sounds in my head


	3. Extra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lions' discussion about Black Paladin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally part of chapter 2, but I ended up taking a different path.  
> I rewrote and added to it for this extra

Keith broke away from the group, approaching Black. He touched the barrier. Nothing. Keith frowned, pulling his hand back before reaching out to the barrier again. Still nothing. Black just sat there, eyes staring straight ahead. “Shiro told me to lead if something happened to him-” Keith started, finally getting a reaction. Black growled lowly, actively upturning her head in distaste. The (ex?) Red Paladin squawked at that, stomping his foot.

_ Red, your cub lacks manners _

Lance straightened up.

_ Really though, Allura is only encouraging this behavior, like we follow their hierarchy for power or positions. Though yes, the human needs some lessons on social etiquette as well. _

“What the-” Lance muttered under his breath.

_ Blue, are you translating this all? _

_ Yup._

_ Why? _

_ Why not? Besides someone needs to correct the paladins_

_ Weren’t we having this issue because no one was listening to your paladin to start with?_

_ Actually, it started with your paladin trying to be the leader._

_ We love you Red, but your cub isn’t fit for leadership right now._

_ Yeah yeah, impulsive blah blah blah_

_ And he isn’t calm nor does he communicate well._

_ My cub, not leader. We get it. Done. Moving on._

_ I didn’t get to say anything _

_ Fine. Go._

_ He tried to fight Zarkon by himself _

_ Which you encouraged actually_

_ The bastard hurt Black_

_ So you decided to try and fight him with a cub pilot _

_ It wasn’t a smart decision and I’m sorry about it_

_ Red, things turned out alright. Everyone’s okay. Well at least relatively functioning okay._

_ Back to business?_

_ We find Shiro of course, but Voltron might be needed before he is located. So, Black? _

_ I have a couple ideas _

_ Slav?_

_ No. I know you are joking, but just no. Slav’s anxiety is at least tripled of Shiro’s. _

_ How about Allura? She is a natural leader _

_ No_

_ She is also extremely bias_

_ And Shiro was not? _

_ His bias was a bit more unconscious... Allura is aware of her actions to a degree_

_ Is this a Lance thing? _

_ She was also rude to my paladin. I understand her wariness after what happened with our last Galran paladin. However I still feel she could have been at least civil with my paladin while she sorted her things out._

_ Being the head is a heavy job. Allura’s emotional status is far too frenzied, especially as she hasn’t tried to confront some issues like Shiro has. _

_ I can see your points. However we are running out of options. _

_ I won’t be opposed to borrowing- _

_ Not happening. Lance is mine._

_ None of us are going to take him away Blue. _

_ I merely think Lance could be an excellent leader. I think he can be an excellent leader from the right leg best. _

_ To be honest, Black probably just wants to be pampered. Your Lance makes sure your outside match your inner beauty_

_ Oh my god you two _

_ Maybe have Lance talk to Coran about lion washing as a bonding activity _

_ Forgiven for now. But seriously paws off my paladin._

_ Lance is your paladin, and you are his beautiful girl. No one in the universe could break your bond. _

_ Okay now you are just sweet talking me_

_ Is it working? _

_ Yes ~<3_

_ Getting back on track again, I would suggest Coran_

_ Coran? _

_ Yeah. He is wise, military trained, has lived through war before, and he cares greatly about the paladins and the princess._

_ He is the good space uncle, I second this suggestion_

_ I feel silly for I bypassing him. _

_ Plus Allura already suggested he fly a lion. Why shuffle our pilots at all_

_ I hope Coran will agree then. _

_ If not, we should try one of the Marmorites!_

_ Who? _

_ Her paladin’s nickname for the Blade of Marmora_

_ Their leader, Kolivan could be our backup choice _

_ Sounds good to me_

_ If Coran declines, Kolivan will do fine till Shiro is found. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just remembered why I rewrote my path. Formatting this was a bitch with all my colors. I do like this quite a bit though. You can see some influence from comments as well ;)
> 
> Also this will probably be the last piece in this story. I might however do some more stories with the lions just talking, or possibly doing story time for their paladins.

**Author's Note:**

> I might continue this, but the tone would be a lot different (probably more comedic with the lions being petty and protective of their right leg and beloved partner)


End file.
